RUGBY UNION
S Africa teams face cull
South Africa on July 7 is to announce which two of its six Super Rugby franchises are to be dumped from next year’s competition. The Central Cheetahs from Bloemfontein and the Southern Kings from Port Elizabeth are the media favorites for the chop. That would leave Coastal Sharks from Durban, the Golden Lions from Johannesburg, the Northern Bulls from Pretoria and the Western Stormers from Cape Town as the South Africa-based contenders next season. The decision is to be made after the South African Rugby Union has evaluated the on and off-field strengths and weaknesses of the six franchises.
CYCLING
Ex-UCI president dies
Former International Cycling Union (UCI) president Hein Verbruggen, who oversaw the worldwide spread of a sport often tainted by doping, has died. He was 75. The UCI and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) both reacted to the news on Wednesday, underscoring the Dutchman’s clout within both organizations. The IOC flew its flag at half staff and Dutch King Willem-Alexander, a former IOC member, called him “a man with a big heart for the Olympic movement, for cycling and those close to him.” Dutch cycling association spokesman Kevin Leenheers confirmed the death, saying Verbruggen died on Tuesday night. Critics said Verbruggen was too close to those involved in doping. He was often confronted for his relationship with Lance Armstrong of the US, who was the face of cycling with his seven Tour de France victories before he came to embody the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs. Verbruggen faced accusers saying he was colluding with dopers instead of countering them. He proclaimed his innocence until his death.
SOCCER
Referees’ powers boosted
Referees at this year’s Confederations Cup in Russia are to have the power to abandon games over discriminatory behavior by fans as part of a three-step procedure to promote fair play during the tournament, governing body FIFA said. The procedure allows referees to halt the match and make a public announcement over discriminatory fan behavior, temporarily suspend the game if the problem persists and completely stop the match if the behavior does not stop. The governing body also introduced an initiative to deploy antidiscrimination officials into the crowd to detect and report abusive behavior.
SOCCER
South Korea sack coach
South Korea yesterday axed coach Uli Stielike after a shock defeat to Qatar left their World Cup qualification hanging in the balance. Germany’s Stielike, who has been in charge since 2014, paid the price for a poor run of results, including qualifying defeats to China and Iran. Tuesday’s 3-2 reverse was South Korea’s first loss to Qatar in 32 years and left them in danger of missing direct qualification for Russia next year. Lee Yong-soo, chairman of the Korean Football Association (KFA), also resigned in a shake-up ahead of their final two qualifying games. “As the results of the final World Cup qualification round did not meet our expectation, the KFA and coach Stielike decided to end Stielike’s contract under mutual agreement,” Lee said after a meeting in Seoul.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two